In the grand scheme of the 2023 Farm Bill, agriculture—despite what the bill’s name may suggest—makes up just a small portion, with nutrition programs slated to account for over 80% of spending.

Still, agricultural industry groups are pushing to make their slice of the Farm Bill pie as impactful as possible, and their priorities could have a notable impact on the food industry.

• According to the USDA Economic Research Service, every $1 invested in public agricultural R&D between 1900 and 2011 produced an average $20 in benefits to the US economy, improving areas like food prices and availability as well as food safety.

“The Farm Bill is a once-in-a-five-year opportunity to really realign our priorities with where we want to be able to go, and specifically for food and agriculture,” Peggy Yih, managing director at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’s Center on Global Food and Agriculture, told us.

Ag behind: Yih said one of the organization’s top recommendations for the Farm Bill is public agricultural R&D receiving “adequate attention and funding,” noting that China surpassed the US in ag research funding in 2008, while India and Brazil are also boosting their funding.

• Ag research funding has dropped 20% since 1995, meaning funding for the four USDA agricultural research agencies has grown at much lower rates than other federal research programs, like the National Institutes of Health.
• Funding for public ag R&D could fill the gap of support for specialty crops that the private sector doesn’t prioritize because they don’t offer the short-term profit that a crop like corn would, Yih noted.

“We really need tools to equip farmers and everyone involved in the food supply chain to ensure that we have affordable, safe, and healthy foods for not only the American public, but to be able to provide…a breadbasket for the entire world,” Yih said.

Keep reading here.—EC

Come rain or come a global pandemic, alcohol sales have always stayed pretty solid. And wine is a big part of that.

• In 2021, the global wine business accounted for $489.3 billion and is estimated to hit $825.5 billion by 2030.

Even large luxury conglomerates are taking note, as the likes of LVMH ramp up their acquisitions of historic vineyards in Napa, which we looked at earlier this week.

Suffice to say, competition between wineries is high and to keep ahead of it, companies need to do more to keep consumers engaged.

Moreover for a winery like Chateau Montelena, where a single bottle of wine is priced anywhere from $45 to $200, the stakes are even higher since customers tend to expect more when they spend more.

We spoke to Matt Crafton, the head winemaker who oversees production at Chateau Montelena, and he gave us a few keys to the 19th-century winery’s success.

Read the interview here.—JS

A significant portion of AAMCO’s leadership team has reportedly left the automotive services company, according to sources who spoke to Marketing Brew.

• CMO Amy Johnson has reportedly departed.
• James Gregory, AAMCO’s chief executive, is also among executives rumored to have left.

AAMCO, whose website states it had 573 AAMCO locations in the US and Canada in 2021, is owned by Icahn Automotive Group, a subsidiary of Icahn Enterprises, which also owns Pep Boys, Auto Plus, and Precision Tune Auto Care.

Read the whole story here.—JS, MS

Today’s top retail reads.

Turning it around: Despite the use of new phrases like “pro-aging” and “anti-anti-aging,” beauty brands continue to sell the same anti-aging products—a strategy that might need an overhaul. (Business of Fashion)

It’s kinda personal: As fragrance sales spike in China, all eyes are on Gen Z consumers, who tend to value individuality and customization when it comes to their favorite scents. (Vogue Business)

Take it down: Calls to boycott Bud Light have shed light on research that shows social media protests against brands like Goya in the past have rarely hurt the brands’ sales. In fact, in some cases, it’s had the opposite effect. (the Wall Street Journal)

Three of the stories below are real...and one is most definitely not. Can you spot the fake?

1. H&H Bagels is selling a unique “tax-free” bagel—from now through Tax Day—that comes stuffed with cream cheese to skirt New York’s infamous “bagel tax.”
2. San Pellegrino has joined forces with Tito’s and Jack Daniel’s to create a line of sparkling summer canned cocktails.
3. A fortune cookie maker is using ChatGPT to write up the “unique” tiny sticker messages that come in the cookies.
4. Oscar Mayer is offering couples hoping to elope to Las Vegas the opportunity to tie the knot at its Wienermobile of Love, a 27-foot-long vehicle shaped like its famous hot dog.

Keep reading for the answer.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• How Dutchie sets up a point-of-sale system for cannabis stores
• Amazon and Panera think conversational AI is the future of easy ordering
• Thrift shops and Goodwill are thriving even amid the resale explosion